


An Apparition

by SilverJettStar



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Feel Good Angst, Fluff, Future, Like so much angst, Short & Sweet, Tears, good angst, kinda fluffy?, post WoR
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-04
Updated: 2019-07-04
Packaged: 2020-06-03 18:37:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19469791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverJettStar/pseuds/SilverJettStar
Summary: It’s after the events of Chapter 15. They have just finished rebuilding Insomnia. And suddenly, during the celebrations, the boys are approached with several puzzling, and possibly hopeful reports.





	An Apparition

“Impossible,” They had said upon receiving the first report. “You could not have seen him. He has been dead for five years.” 

But then the second report came in. A third, a fourth, a fifth, a sixth. The reports just kept adding up, sometimes dozens of people would turn up at a time, all saying the same thing. 

Noct. Wandering through the crowds. Watching the festivities, smiling and laughing at the performances, browsing the goods. He would be there, And then someone would realize who he was. 

“Is that the Chosen King?” 

“Is that—?!” 

“Noctis—!” 

And then he was gone. Nothing would be there where he stood. It was when Iris herself came to Prompto insisting— 

“I _saw_ him, I swear I did, I saw Noct! He was standing— right there, he was standing and watching the dances!” 

“We have to go see if we can see him,” Gladio insisted. “What if he’s alive—“ 

“You are the one who pulled the sword from his chest, Gladio,” Ignis said sorrowfully, “you helped us carry his body from the throne, you know as well as Prompto and I that he is dead.” 

“But what if he’s not anymore?” Prompto said with a nod. “We have to at least go look, Iggy, this many people can’t be lying about seeing him.” 

“...very well. If you see him, do let me know—“ 

“You’re coming with us. What if he’s really there, what if we can talk to him?” 

And so... off they went. Into Insomnia. Five long, grueling years. Nonstop work, days upon days of exhaustion, working from dawn to dusk, collapsing, sleeping, and then doing it all over again. It was slow, it was painful, and it had taken so much work. But in the end, it was worth it. Insomnia was rebuilt, built better than it had been before. The city finally had that glittering beauty to it, with the Citadel the crown jewel of the city. Memorials to those who had died in the Fall had been erected, and outside the Citadel, towered a statue of the chosen king, etched into stone the sacrifices of his life that had brought back the light. Prompto still couldn’t look at that without tears forming in his eyes. 

Gods, how he missed his best friend. He was trying not to let the stories get his hopes up, but... he just wanted to see Noct. One more time. 

Gladio led the way through the city, alive and bustling with festivities. The past several days had been dedicated to celebration of the completion of Insomnia’s repair. People from all over— old insomnian citizens, vendors from Lestallum, officials and tourists from Altissia— everyone came to celebrate the city’s renewal. But as much as it was a celebration, it was a time of grief. A reminder of all those who had been lost in the attack. All those who had been lost in the ten years of darkness. The loss of the Oracle, the sacrifice of the King. 

“Where was the most recent sighting?” Ignis asked. 

“Near the Citadel,” Gladio responded. 

Prompto was practically running. His body ached with growing age, with the tolls that ten years of darkness and five years of rebuilding had taken on him, but he ignored it. With Gladio and Ignis not far behind, Noctis was the only thing he had on his mind as he raced towards the Citadel. 

He froze. Staring ahead. Staring at the sight before him, standing just in front of the Citadel. Spiky raven hair blew gently in the wind, eyes of navy blue gazing up fondly at the rebuilt Citadel. he looked exactly as he had 15 years ago. Before the crystal swallowed him whole, ate away at his life, stole his future, robbed him of everything he could be.

There were tears glistening on his cheeks, and yet a smile on his lips. And suddenly Prompto understood why he had been seen through the streets. Why people had seen him wandering.

He was taking one last look at his city— in all the glory it should have been. Not the work down, ruined city that he took his last breath in. 

Ignis made a noise like he was choking, and Gladio stopped in his tracks, just a few feet behind Prompto. 

“I see him,” Ignis choked out, his voice nearly a sob, broken and overwhelmed, the first time he had seen anything other than darkness in over 15 years. “I **_see him_**.” 

Noctis slowly turned his head away from the Citadel. His navy blues settled on the other three, his friends, his brothers. His hands shoved in his pockets, his body stood in that laid back and relaxed posture that Ignis used to always get onto him about. 

And he smiled. A genuine smile, tears running down his cheeks as he gave a nod of thanks to his friends.

_Thank you for rebuilding my home._

And then he was gone. In the blink of an eye, there was nothing left where he had once stood. 

That would be the last time they would ever see Noctis again. 


End file.
